


I'll Face The World With You

by samiam17



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M, Worlds, lovethesecharacters, putting them in different worlds, this should be fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7357519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samiam17/pseuds/samiam17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Putting the Horsemen we know and love into different worlds. I'll write different au's according to requests or continue on a few of them.</p><p>First Chapter: Werewolf Horsemen<br/>Second Chapter: Soulmate Horsemen</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Werewolves of NYC

The full moon shone in through J. Daniel Atlas’s apartment window and he felt electricity zipping through his body as he bathed in the moonlight. He felt his eyes growing stronger and his teeth filing into sharp fangs.

The transformation was beginning and Daniel was loving it.

He left his apartment in a hurry, rushing down the stairs two at a time- he didn’t want to go full-on wolf in his house. Been there, done that. But that was before Danny embraced his wolf side, back when he still lived with his society-conscience parents who freaked out when they found out their son was a werewolf. They tried to buy drugs that would stop his transformations, but that would only make Daniel angry and sick. Running away was the best decision of his life. He lived for these nights he could truly feel free, really feel like himself.

Before the transformation could get underway, Danny is outside in New York City, broadly smiling at the emptiness of the normally bustling city. No normal pedestrian would be caught dead outside during a full moon. Though Daniel knew he was no more a threat than a fly, other meaner wolves chose to use these nights to terrorize people.

As a mature werewolf, Daniel was well in control of his transformation and he knew he could hold out for a while before he fully wolfed out and he liked to do that for a bit, just walking down the street without a care in the world. The nighttime wind rushed through his curly hair and he couldn’t wait to see how that wind would feel once he was finally transformed. Every fiber of his being waited for these nights and then once they were over, he would start getting excited for them once again.

With his wolf eyes, Daniel could see in high definition. He could make out little specs of dust on a far away lamppost if he concentrated on it. The new sense of smell was incredibly strong, but in the grossest parts of NYC, it definitely had its disadvantages.

Daniel let his control slip for a second, purposefully focusing on his ears. With only a little wince, he felt them change into wolf ears that stuck out from his mop of hair. A crazy sight for a mortal, but for the supernatural, this sort of control was unheard of and should be praised. But that was the way Danny liked it. He was a control freak after all. He worked hard to have a clear head when he transformed. It took time and practice, but now he was a pro.

With his new wolf ears he could hear for miles. The tick-ticking of someone’s nearby clock, the rush of wings of a pigeon far-off, and the sound of a scream.

Danny’s brow furrowed. Wait, what?

He focused for a second, only to hear another yell. This time Danny was able to pinpoint the location, only a few blocks from him. With the speed that only a wolf could possess, Danny surged forward without thinking twice.

When he skidded to a stop ten seconds later, his jaw dropped.

He stood in an abandoned alley, well a not quite so abandoned alley at the moment. Daniel saw a figure in front of him. Upon closer inspection, it was a boy. A boy who’s chest was heaving as he sucked in breaths like they could be his last. He cried out in pain, clutching his hand with sheer panic on his young face.

At first, Danny thought that the boy must have been attacked by a wolf. Contrary to popular belief, you can only be born with the wolf gene (according to some research he conducted, Danny had acquired that gene from a disowned uncle) so being scratched by one would not turn you into a supernatural creature. However, it did hurt like being sliced by sharp hot steel. Daniel wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out without transforming, but he could try his best to bring the boy to safety before the full moon really brought everyone out.

A step forward made him realize that this boy had not been attacked at all.

The hand he was clutching wasn’t a hand anymore. It was a wolf paw.

Suddenly, he saw in the boy what he himself had felt during his first transformation. He was scared, confused, and hurting. Danny had wished there had been someone at his side who had cared about keeping him calm and knew what was happening. He wanted to be there for the boy in front of him.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Danny started.

In response, the boy’s head snapped up from where it had been looking at his new paw. The boy’s eyes were brown and not quite wolf yet, but equally as sharp in color and Danny felt like he could see into the boy’s scared soul by looking through those eyes. The boy began to scramble back when he saw Daniel, scooting against the dirty pavement until he let out another terrible shout and arched his back in pain.

“Hey, kid,” Daniel tried to keep his voice as calm and soothing as possible, “Really, it’s okay. I know my first transformation was really painful and really scary. I can help you. You’re going to be okay.”

After a few strangled gasps the boy looked up again, “What’s h-happening?”

Daniel didn’t know how to phrase it differently. He tried to size the kid up. He might have been seventeen by the looks of it. Pretty early to be changing. Most change around twenty, but Daniel had been sixteen when he turned- incredibly early.

“You’re turning into a werewolf.” He said, ultimately deciding that this boy looked tough enough to take it from the leather jacket he was wearing.

“What?!” The teen spat, panic catching in his throat.

Turned out regardless of who you were, the idea of turning into a monster and shedding your human exterior was terrifying. Daniel could understand that. That was pretty much to be expected. But hey, at least the kid wasn’t passed out or anything. That was a plus.

“Yes.” Daniel continued, “But it’s nothing to be afraid of and it’s not going to kill you, even though it feels like death I must confess- especially the first time.” The boy hissed and groaned as the fur from his left paw started to travel up his forearm. Daniel knew that it was going to start to really hurt soon, so he figured introductions needed to be in place. “I’m Daniel Atlas. I’ve been transforming for a while now and I can help you through it, just trust me, okay?”

“Do I have a choice?” The teen grunted from the alley floor.

Not exactly the response Danny was looking for, but it would do for now. “So what is your name?”

“Jack.” He started, then he yelped in pain as the fur continued to mask his human skin. “Wilder.” He finished in a breathy gasp.

“Well, Jack, I know this must be scary. And I know it’s going to hurt like crazy.” Daniel didn’t want to lie to the kid, “But once it’s all over I swear it’ll be the best feeling in the world when you’re a wolf and you’re going to wonder how you went your whole life just walking on two legs.”

***

Jack had spent the past few days thinking he was coming down with pneumonia or something. He was snappier than usual, he felt itchy all over, and he hadn’t slept a wink in the past two days. It was starting to make him crazy. Even after researching all the outlandish possible diseases he could have obtained, this was nothing close to what his wildest imagination had dreamed up.

He was living in his eighth group home now. Mr. Reynolds really didn’t care what happened to the kids so long as he got his government check and that’s why even though it was a full moon, he didn’t blink when Jack stumbled outside to get some fresh air. The teen had been feeling stuffy and hot and uncomfortable in his own skin. For some odd reason his mind was going in circles and all he could think was that he needed to get outside.

And he was glad that he did because when he stumbled into the alley near Mr. Reynolds’s apartment, he sprouted a wolf hand. And then the pain came and that hit him harder than any of the hundreds of punching adversaries Jack had the unfortunate luck of pissing off or crossing by accident. The foster system gave him the perfect opportunity to meet a lot of people who would hurt him.

But at that moment, he would have taken a beating from six of those guys at once if it meant he wouldn’t have to suffer the way he was now.

And this Daniel Atlas guy came up to and told Jack that he was a werewolf. The older man also just told him that he agony would grow worse.

“Wait, what- ghah!” Jack hissed as the changes started to occur quicker. It felt like heat so intense that everything went numb. The world around him started to pool into a liquid mess and he couldn’t make out anything around him. His ears started ringing and his teeth felt sore. He felt himself morphing, growing larger and wider and stronger. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. 

“Help, make it stop!” Jack yelled to the man- Daniel- who seemed to understand what was going on with him. It took a few seconds for him to register that his voice had dropped to an incredibly low tone and each word was followed by a growl. Oh my god, he thought, I’m turning into a wolf.

“Honestly,” Danny told him, “The best thing you can do right now is not to fight it- resistance will only make it hurt more.”

“How can I not fight it?” Jack growled, “I don’t want to turn into a wolf! That’s insan- ahhhhhhh!” It felt like his back had snapped in half. Daniel was sitting next to him now, careful not to touch him, but close enough for support and to narrate what was happening because Jack still couldn’t make out any objects and his already blurry vision was starting to be blocked by spots of black.

“Okay so you’re starting to grow a tail… Don’t squirm, it’ll only make it hurt more… You’re practically fully transformed now…”

Jack could tell. He felt incredibly different. He realized he was covered in hair and he had grown a snout. His eyesight grew from darkness to being able to see like he was looking through a microscope. His wolf ears detected the slightest of sounds and yes, he definitely had a tail. He tested it out for a second, somehow knowing which muscles to use to make his wolf tail wag. Suddenly, the pain started melting away and he felt aware of his new form.

“Hey Jack- you good?” Daniel’s voice came from above, “You aren’t going to be able to talk, but just bark once for yes.”

I can’t talk? The thought alone sent terror through his veins. This was too intense- too different. But there wasn’t really another choice so he tested out his new wolf vocal chords and barked in affirmation.

Daniel nodded in approval. He spent a couple minutes instructing Jack on how to stand up on his shaky legs. “You’re a puppy.” Daniel said, and Jack sort of sensed a condescending tone in the man’s voice, but Jack attributed that to the guy’s personality, “This is your first transformation. Think of this as you being a human baby. You’re not sure how to walk and you don’t have a lot of the motor skills down, but in your wolf form you will learn quickly.”

Jack was almost embarrassed with how long it took him to work up the ability to rise without wobbling, it was more complicated than he thought.

“Okay, I’m going to let myself change.” Danny told him when he deemed the boy ready, “We will be able to communicate through our minds and I’ll show you what it’s like to be a wolf.” He gave a smile at Jack, “I think you’re really going to like it.”

When Jack stumbled onto all fours for the first time, it was enough to maybe believe what this older werewolf was telling him. He felt like he had been missing a piece of himself his entire life and now, as ridiculous as it sounded, his new form gave him strength and confidence. He no longer felt sick, tired, or fidgety. It was like all the flaws he had when he was a human vanished.

So are you ready?

Jack scampered, still a little weak on his feet, behind him to see Danny who, Jack had realized, spoke to him through his mind. That was a little weird, but then again this entire situation was pretty messed up. In his wolf form, Danny had white fur that stood out in the night. He was huge, even though in human form the man couldn’t have been that much taller than him. Jack really did feel like the ‘puppy’ Daniel had called him when he took in his own features. Wobbly legs, smaller stature, and twitching ears, but he did really like the color of fur he had, dark, dark brown that it almost blended in to the night.

He was excited to start this new part of his life, it wasn’t like his human time was so great anyways.

Not exactly sure he was doing it right, he thought the word he wanted to:

Ready.


	2. Destined To Be An Unstoppable Force

Merritt McKinney went a long time without any tattoos at all. 

His friends all had theirs. A lot of them were born with them, already knowing their soulmate was out there just waiting to meet them.

Yeah, Merritt was sure when he turned twenty years old that he was one of those unlucky few who didn’t even have a soulmate. He was destined to be lonely for the rest of his life- a fact that made his twin brother laugh all the time. But who was Chase to talk- his soulmate was probably an alcoholic or something because the tattoo engraved on Chase’s knee was a beer bottle. While Merritt was no stranger to the bar himself, he wondered what kind of a person could be summed up by a picture of a beer bottle.

It was three months after his 21st birthday that his soulmate tattoo appeared. A magic wand and top hat that burned like fire on his ankle. At first he was mortified that he was 21 years old and his soulmate was just born, but after a while it felt good to know that someone was out there who understood him. And if he had waited 21 years for the tattoo to appear, he was fine with waiting as long as was necessary for them to meet. He would know when his tattoo started to burn again that they were face to face.

It was when he was 22 that Merritt choked on a glass of water because that blistering pain was back again. Sure enough, on his shoulder blade there was now a depiction of handcuffs. 

At first he was shocked. Most people only had one tattoo- one soulmate. Now Merritt had two? He had spent so long with none and now he had two?

After he got over the initial shock, he wondered what this second soulmate was like because handcuffs were a pretty freaky thing to have for a soulmate tattoo- it was right up there with his brother’s beer bottle tattoo. Was his new soulmate destined to live a life in prison? And if so did that mean that Merritt would go to prison too? How else would be meet this person?

By the time he was 30, he still hadn’t met either of his soulmates. He had figured that the odds were in his favor that he would have at least met one by now, but no. He didn’t feel any pain at all in his tattoos when he met new people which meant that even though he knew now that he was destined to find people who were perfect for him, he was still leading that miserable, lonely life he expected to when he was tattoo-less.

He made a living as a mentalist. He told people things they thought he could never find out. He could look into the eyes of a willing volunteer and find out their name, their age, where they live, and more. Unfortunately, with all those cool abilities, he could not use mentalism to figure out when his tattoos were going to burn and he would meet his other half. Well… halves.

The third tattoo stressed Merritt out enough to make him pass out in his apartment. A third soulmate? That was unheard of. That sort of stuff was rare enough to make the news. And this new soulmate was born when Merritt was 30. 30 years was a pretty insane age difference for soulmates. 

It kind of freaked Merritt out to get that new mark. This one was on the palm of his hand. It was a playing card: the Jack of Diamonds to be precise. When he saw it, Merritt groaned because there was no way to hide this from his friends. He didn’t even want to imagine what they would call him for getting a soulmate who was thirty years younger than he was. And a playing card? First he thought he had a prisoner, now did he have a soulmate with a gambling problem?

But the second those thoughts crossed his mind, Merritt felt awful. Even though he was sort of mad that his tattoos had taken so long to manifest themselves and he was upset he hadn’t met any of them yet, he realized he needed to think about the others. He was sure it would be dangerous and really painful for a newborn baby to get three markings at once. One alone hurt like fire.

After that, Merritt had a different point of view. He tried to care about his soulmates, even if he didn’t know them yet. He started eating healthier and exercising because he wanted to be around for a while so he could spend more time with them. With such big age gaps, Merritt knew that he would need to stay in shape. On February 20th, May 6th, and October 17th, Merritt would treat himself, though. He’d buy a cupcake from the bakery near his apartment and celebrate the birthdays of his three soulmates.

When he got the card from The Eye, the last thing Merritt expected was to meet them.

He was standing in front of an abandoned apartment door, thinking for sure he had been pranked and kicking himself for taking a leap of faith and buying an expensive plane ticket from Louisiana to New York.

Merritt was so caught up in how mad he was about the situation that he didn’t even notice the faint pain coming from his ankle, shoulder blade, and palm. It started getting stronger and stronger, though and soon, Merritt was leaning against the abandoned apartment door for support through the pain.

He didn’t even hear them when they came in, but suddenly the pain in his ankle and shoulder blade ceased. He looked up and found himself eye to eye with two of his soulmates.

Merritt had no idea what to say to the redhead and arrogant looking man in front of him, but the arrogant guy seemed to know what to do.

“Okay, very nice, I’m J. Daniel Atlas.” He quipped, holding out his hand which Merritt saw had a card tattoo on his palm as well. Merritt shook his hand and felt pretty uneasy. “And this is Henley Reeves. She’s-“

“I can introduce myself Danny.” The girl, Henley, retorted. Then she flashed Merritt a glowing smile and said, “I’m Henley. And I’m the handcuffs on your shoulder blade.”

Merritt knew he was supposed to feel comfortable around these two, so he gave a small smirk and said, “Not exactly who I was picturing with a handcuff tattoo. I figured you must have been in jail or something… unless you were?”

Daniel snorted with laughter and Henley just sighed, “Danny thought the same thing before we met. No I’m not a criminal, I’m an escape artist.”

So they have a history. “Cool.” Merritt nodded. And then a somewhat awkward silence descended upon them.

“So, um,” Daniel took charge again, “Are you the card or the brain?”

Brain? That was a pretty cool tattoo to be. “The brain, I guess. Probably because I’m a mentalist.” He saw it now on the back of Daniel’s neck. He supposed it was on Henley as well, just covered by her hair.

“I’m the magic hat and stuff.” Daniel explained, “I’m a magician.” He jerked his head toward Henley, “She was my assistant.”

Merritt could see that Henley was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “So I guess that’s why we all were called here by The Eye.” A mischievous gleam shone through her own eyes, “And maybe why we are all soulmates.”

“Yeah. It looks like this one,” Daniel held up his card palm in annoyance, “is a little late.”

As if on cue, the apartment complex door opened, and the three united soulmates all looked expectedly towards the stairs.

A brunette kid, handsome by every definition, appeared. Only having enough time to say “Wow.” Before almost being knocked off his feet as all his tattoos burned at once.

“Oh my god!” Henley’s eyebrows shot up as she ran over to help, but it seemed like the young soulmate was okay.

“I’m Jack Wilder.” He introduced himself. “Did you guys all get cards too?”

They spent the rest of the day sitting there in front of the room they were supposed to go in per directions from The Eye. Jack insisted he knew how to pick the lock, but in truth, all four of them just wanted to sit down and get to know each other.

The more they talked, the more Merritt realized just how well the group all fit together.

Danny was the one born May 6th and it was almost like Merritt just knew it was his mission to make the guy lighten up. He could see how tense the magician was and how his arrogance was a front to make sure he didn’t seem weak to anyone- much less his soulmates. Plus, it didn’t take a mentalist to figure out that Daniel was really pining for Henley, except he was going about it all wrong. Probably because he feared rejection. Merritt would also try to give him girl advice in the future. He could tell Danny really needed it.

As for Henley, born February 20th, Merritt saw that she needed to be appreciated. Spending so much time with Daniel, a man that would always brag about his achievements at the expense of others, couldn’t be great for one’s self confidence. Merritt wanted his only female soulmate to feel special and a genuine part of the team, because he knew that with her escape talents, she had a lot of potential. She didn’t deserve to be someone’s assistant, she should be the main attraction. Merritt told himself that he would try to compliment the girl every day.

His young soulmate, Jack, was born on October 17th and the second he saw the bruises on his arms, Merritt wished he had met the boy a long time ago to protect him. They finally got the kid’s story out from him after lots of prodding, only to be horrified by what they heard. He was a street kid without any family who was drawn to learn magic by none other than Atlas. Small world. After hearing the kid’s sad tale, Merritt knew inside that he needed to be a father figure to him. Someone who would keep him safe so that he would never have to live like that again.

As for Daniel, Henley, and Jack, they saw in Merritt a lonely man. They knew that they needed to be his companions and friends. They wanted to make sure he never felt alone again and that he would always have someone to turn to.

They would make a great team. A group of soulmates working together to put on the greatest magic show ever imagined. Their unique skills meshed well together and they brought out the best in each other. Even Danny had to admit that they were an unstoppable force.

And even when they were apart, when Henley went to visit her parents or Daniel went to his high school reunion or when Jack faked his death or when Merritt went to an old movie no one was interested in seeing, the others would feel a slight buzz in their soulmate’s tattoo and know that they were still connected- all four of them.

Now that they had found each other, there was no way they were going to let go of that bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I'm so happy about the positive reviews from the first chapter.
> 
> This chapter was a request from Bookworm- she wanted a Soulmate AU and I was happy to provide one.
> 
> If anyone has an idea for another world to put our favorite Horsemen in, please comment below to let your ideas be heard! I'm going to try to do all the requests I can!
> 
> Thanks so much and remember to leave kudos and bookmark!  
> -Sam

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for reading- this was super fun to write! Please leave kudos, but especially COMMENT.
> 
> If you have an idea for a new world for me to write the Horsemen in, leave the request down below. Your requests will keep this compilation going!
> 
> I already think I want to do superhero and soulmate au's- if any of you like those ideas, let me know!
> 
> Thanks,  
> -Sam


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